The first of what is likely to be many forums among the
candidates for District 5 supervisor was held Wednesday, August 8, at the
public library's Park Branch. If nothing else came from the evening, which was
more about candidates introducing themselves to voters and jockeying for the
District 5 Democratic Club endorsement than heated discussion on the issues, a
few of them inadvertently came up with some great campaign slogans.

They could go something like this, and be posted on fliers
and posters from the far corner of Lincoln Way to the end of Geary and in the
Haight: John Rizzo, he's been caught on Muni in the tunnel for half an hour.
Julian Davis keeps it real. And finally, Christina Olague is thrilled and
excited to be serving the community as District 5 supervisor.

Though running to maintain her seat in City Hall, Olague is
just like the other candidates in that she has never been elected to the Board
of Supervisors.

Instead, Mayor Ed Lee appointed her to the position after
her predecessor, Ross Mirkarimi, was sworn in as sheriff in January. (He was
subsequently suspended after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor and is now
fighting for his job.) According to campaign fundraising reports published
earlier this month, Olague has raised more than $80,000 between January and
June 2012, more than all but one other candidate.

But recent news stories report that Olague's standing with
other San Francisco progressives may be less than ideal and she is running in the
city's most liberal district. In July, Matt Gonzalez, former District 5 supervisor,
and the one responsible for appointing Olague to the Planning Commission
several years ago, withdrew his endorsement of her.

She's also taken criticism from some voters for supporting
the 8 Washington project, which would allow the building of high-rise condos
near the Embarcadero. Some opponents of the project were at the debate handing
out posters, hoping Olague would reconsider her decision and follow "her
inclination," instead of being influenced by the mayor, they said.

Olague had some supporters there as well, like Michael Dane,
a gay man working with the San Francisco medical cannabis movement to ensure
safe access for people living with HIV and AIDS. Dane said that many of his
friends being treated for HIV and AIDS "are going underground to get"
the marijuana they need to combat side effects from medications.

Dane said he was concerned by the loss of dispensaries in
District 5, like the Vapor Room which closed at the end of July, and he wanted
to know if the other candidates will make the effort to protect safe access.
Olague, he said, "I know will do it."

In opening comments Olague said that as president of the
Planning Commission, and now as District 5 supervisor, she's worked to improve
conditions in communities of color, protect small business, and protect safe
access.

Olague said it is sad to see "good" dispensaries
shut their doors, because they provide so many positive things to communities,
not least of which is medicine.

"I think in this debate one of the things that a lot of
people forget is medical cannabis is exactly that, it is medicine, and there
are patients that need it," she said.

For that reason, Olague said she "full-heartedly
supports safe access to medical cannabis and the San Francisco medical cannabis
program."

Candidate John Rizzo echoed Olague's support for medical
cannabis, calling the crackdowns on local dispensaries by the federal government
"unfortunate." But Rizzo saved some of his most passionate responses
for the issue of pedestrian deaths on San Francisco streets.

Rizzo told the Bay Area Reporter
before the debate started that, while he currently
serves as president of the Board of Trustees at City College of San Francisco
and is a member of the Sierra Club working to restore millions to the city's Go
Solar SF program, he does have the time and energy to run a campaign for supervisor.

When asked if the criminal justice system has adequately
responded to cases involving pedestrian deaths, Rizzo responded, "No. I
don't think the city or the police department take pedestrian injuries
seriously."

He added that the number of pedestrian deaths and injuries
will only go up in the coming years and San Francisco "has no plan to
reduce it."

"There needs to be some attention focused here, some
study, and some metrics developed and some data collected to find out what is
going on here," Rizzo said. "I don't think anyone has the answer to
it. But we won't have the answer to it until we start looking for the
answer."

London Breed is considered a strong candidate in the race,
and was mentioned as a possible pick for the District 5 seat that ultimately
went to Olague. She grew up in the Western Addition and received a master's
degree from the University of San Francisco. Some high profile endorsements
– from state
Attorney General Kamala Harris and state Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco)
– have helped Breed raise more campaign funds then any other candidate so
far.

When asked what could be done about vacant properties in
District 5, Breed, a former member of the Redevelopment Commission and currently
executive director of the African American Arts and Culture Complex, said she
had the experience needed to eliminate what she called "sad sources of
blight" like the empty Harding Theater on Divisadero,
or the old Muni substation at Turk and Fillmore.

"It takes someone who will bring members of the
community together with property owners to come up with real solutions that
make sense for the people most impacted by areas of blight," Breed said.

A big part of Breed's campaign is working to ensure the
different communities in San Francisco can represent themselves. On her
website, she writes, "As supervisor, I would nominate members of the LGBT
community to sit on commissions, ensuring LGBT folks have a voice and are given
fair opportunity to represent their community."

Candidate Julian Davis got his start in local politics from
now-state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) working for him when he served in
the Assembly. Davis served six years on the San Francisco Housing Development
Corporation. His platform of keeping San Francisco "real" by
supporting local businesses, keeping housing affordable, and adding more bikes
than cars to the streets, resonated with at least one city resident at the
debate.

Danielle Erville, a visual artist, said that Davis appealed
to her because he "represents people over profits."

"You want to preserve the businesses that give a
district its flavor," she said.

Davis is all about preserving the flavor of San Francisco.

"This should always be a city where every day people
have a chance to survive and thrive here," he said.

But because of what he called, "rogue development
interests that are controlling the agenda in City Hall," a vision for the
future is being created for San Francisco that includes "the
ultra-rich," not the people who were at the debate.

How does City Hall get away with it? Davis asked.

"By choosing your leaders for you. Over the past two
years we have seen an appointed mayor, an appointed district attorney, an
appointed sheriff, and an appointed District 5 supervisor," he said.

That's not participatory government, Davis said.

Davis's mild dig at Olague there was the closest it came to
what Erville called a "good old fashioned debate" that night.

In the end, the D5 Democratic Club did a ranked choice
endorsement of Breed, Davis, and Olague.

Other candidates at the debate included Thea Selby, Andrew
Resignato, Daniel Everett, and Hope Johnson.